Religion and Me

P.S - This is to the best of my knowledge. Any information not that perfect is merely coincidence.

And I promise you , every single person will have a story about the God they worship and the story would be so detailed that you can even write a book about it, or for that matter, book might actually already exist. And Yes, when I say that, I am also talking about 33 million Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

Well, I have a news for you, good and bad : You were not born to believe in one God. Let's question ourselves through this article, and find out the answer for your 'Why?' .

'Image courtesy Ricardo Liberato '

I was born in a Hindu family. We had one God , that we would worship everyday. I saw my grandmother doing the daily rituals in the morning . She would pluck fresh flowers from the tree, make beautiful garlands out of it. Then she would dress up the God according to the season and wrap that garland around him. She would offer all three meals to God before we were even allowed to touch it. Then again she would change him for night, before going to sleep. And yes, we even grew up with bedtime stories about God. He was like our own personal superhero ! And to give your imagination a picture, here is an image of him, Lord Krishna.

'Lord krishna image by Ronak'

But everything seems so simple here until I tell you I went to a convent school. We had Christian prayers, hymns and enjoyed decorating the manger for Jesus birth every Christmas. And those magical words ' His divine power can give you everything you need' made a deep impact on me. I believed this when I was a child just asking for a dairy milk ( it actually worked ! ) and now when I am an adult, I still believe in Him. It is truly special how it still makes me feel .

'Image courtesy Jimmy Harris'

Then my parents decided to move us to a farmhouse to have that really awesome childhood which was like a 15 year vacation for us. And on that life long vacation, we had the 'Khans' for our neighbors. This wonderful muslim family has such a special place in my childhood memories. Yep, we had equal fun on Holi and Eid. Did I tell you about the mouth watering delicacies they made ?

'Image courtesy Lingeswaran Marimuthukumar'

Within half kilometer from my place, was a famous Gurudwara. Me and grandmother would take a walk there almost every evening. Gurudwara is no wonder, the most serene place to pray. One can sit there for hours with an emptiness of mind that feels so good in a weird way ! How can I even forget my family getting a chance to be a part of a movie photoshoot while visiting Gurudwara one fine afternoon.

'Image courtesy Roshan Raj'

For me, each religion is a wonderful part of my childhood. I have been lucky enough to experience them all. Each of them had a special role in teaching me how religion does not define character of a person. I think the concept and feel of religion is instilled into us since we are born. Respect and Love for the mankind is the only religion I follow.